What was your first job as a journalist?
I wrote a "feature" for the Reche Canyon (CA) community newspaper when I was 9 about a community trash pickup day. Was brilliant.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes! Aforementioned piece about the community trash pickup day flowed from one. And I recently bought an old SC and it's a bitch to use.
How is social media changing news?
Same as it is changing everything. For the worse. (though Twitter can be handy for link curation and ideas on the RCB side, must say).
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Chris Cuomo?
What does it mean to be a journalist?
I'm not a journalist. But I know a lot of them and not one has ever pondered that one out loud in my presence. Thankfully.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
As if I were a human being.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
Nothing at all that unique or special. Laptop. Phone. I use the Rev app to record and transcribe interviews.
What's your favorite social network?
I hate them all with a passion akin to the heat of two thousand burning suns. Maybe three thousand.
Who do you wish followed you?
Mr. T.
Why did you become a journalist?
I am not one of those.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
In high school I was writing features for area lifestyle publications. Best one: interviewed Nick Rhodes for a So Cal magazine when I was 16.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
The aforementioned one about the community trash pickup day.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Bless your heart.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Whenever. If I can’t help you and if I feel like you actually put some effort into it, I’ll likely try to suggest someone who can.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
"Hey. This is f****ng garbage but can you do me a solid?” Of course I did.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Probably the offer to receive a box of feminine hygiene products to test and review. (It’s ‘Christian’ not ‘Christine’…)
What's your favorite drink?
Either water or Diet A&W Root Beer. I don't drink alcohol anymore and my writing has suffered for it.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
On the beach, which thankfully is just a short walk down the street.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Reason. Architectural Digest. Paris Vogue.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
Freeelance side, it's that I have one. I’m lucky in that I can write about anything and someone will run it. RCB beat, it's that I can read.
